Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Columnist Steve Guiremand: Fake story helps rile up Sooners

Steve Guiremand covers college football for the Sun. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-2324.

This week's 28th Battle for the Fremont Cannon was livened up a little by a newspaper exchange between Nevada-Reno linebacker Logan Carter and UNLV quarterback Jason "He Hate Me II" Thomas.

Nothing wrong with that. It always adds a little color to a rivalry to have a little controversy.

But let's give Wolf Pack head coach Chris Tormey and UNLV coach John Robinson kudos for not pulling out the old fake newspaper story ploy to fire up the troops as Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops apparently had to do to get his team focused on Saturday's Big 12 contest at Missouri.

According to the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune, a story from the Kansas City Star with beat writer Mike DeArmond's byline was presented to the Oklahoma defense on Monday and later posted in the Sooner locker room.

The story quoted Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel, like Tormey a former assistant at Washington under Don James, as saying: "I don't want to give them bulletin board material, but just let me say that after watching film on them vs. South Florida they seem very vulnerable right now" and "They have a great defense, but I have seen teams in the MAC that I feel were just as good. We certainly feel like we know how to attack their style of play."

Turns out the story was fabricated. DeArmond said he did not write the quotes nor did he hear Pinkel make those comments.

And if there was any doubt the story was not real, other than the fact it was littered with misspellings, the date should have given it away. The story said it was posted on Sunday Sept. 30. One problem. Sunday was Sept. 29.

Stoops and several of his assistants denied knowing where the story surfaced. Still, the con apparently worked.

"We're going to take that personal," strong safety Eric Bassey told the Daily Oklahoman. "We're going to take that to heart. You want to call us out? We'll just see what happens."

Pinkel wouldn't comment on the fake story, but a good response might have been: "We don't want to call you out. We just want to see if you can spell it. And your coaches, too."

Fingering a problem

While on the topic of low IQs, Fresno State officials are urging rowdy Bulldog fans to be on their best behavior tonight when ESPN's cameras come calling again for Fresno's game against Colorado State.

Seems Fresno State boosters didn't come off too well the last time Pat Hill's squad played at Bulldog Stadium. Fresno State held on for a 16-14 victory over San Diego State that night on ESPN2 when cornerback Raymond Washington, who took a recruiting trip to UNLV but failed to meet minimum NCAA freshman eligibility requirements, blocked a last-second Aztec field goal attempt.

The cameras showed a dejected San Diego State coach Tom Craft with several young male fans behind him elevating their middle fingers and shouting expletives. Later, as the Aztecs left the field, they were bombarded by plastic and glass beer bottles and obscenities.

"That was by far the worst experience -- wherever I've been," Craft told the Fresno Bee this week. "It was not something I was going to broadcast, but since you asked, that was by far the most disgraceful. And I've got to question whether I want to come back and play there."

Fresno State officials, who would love to join the Pac-10 (fat chance) or Mountain West Conferences (Hawaii and Nevada-Reno make more sense), are upgrading security in the Bulldog student section behind the Rams' bench for tonight's game.

"We're concerned, and we're trying to address the problem," Bulldog athletic director Scott Johnson said. "We're not the only school to sell alcohol. But we know there's a responsibility there, and we're trying to make changes in setup, security and behavior of fans and students."

Earlier this year, several plastic beer bottles flew onto the field near the student section at Sam Boyd Stadium after a disputed call.

Memo to UNLV coach/AD John Robinson: You might want to bolster you security in that area in the future, especially for Saturday night's emotional game against Nevada-Reno. Or start selling beer in paper cups.

Here's hoping fans at Sam Boyd Stadium show a lot more class than the folks in Fresno.

Once around the MWC

AIR FORCE: No. 25 Falcons (4-0) appear in the coaches' Top 25 this week for the first time since Oct. 10, 1999, when they also sneaked in at No. 25. Air Force begins its quest for a sixth consecutive Commander-in-Chief's Trophy when it hosts Navy (1-3) Saturday afternoon. The offensive coordinator for the Midshipmen is former UNLV tight ends coach Ken Niumatalolo. Fisher DeBerry is 30-6 against Army and Navy since taking over as Falcons coach.

BYU: It was rumored earlier this week that Cougar coach Gary Crowton was ready to take the redshirt off touted freshman QB recruit Ben Olson. But Crowton once again turns to junior Bret Engemann as his starter for tonight's game at Utah State. Cougars have won six straight against their in-state rivals and rolled up 563 yards in offense last year in a 54-34 victory.

COLORADO STATE: Coach Sonny Lubick got an unexpected aid for his pre-game pep talk for tonight's game at Fresno State (ESPN, 5 p.m.). ESPN Classic ran a replay of the Bulldogs' 25-22 come-from-behind overtime victory over the Rams last year in Fort Collins this week which brought back painful memories for CSU players. The Rams thought they had won that game against the then 10th-rated Bulldogs when quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt hit Pete Rebstock with a touchdown pass with 27 seconds left to give the Rams a 22-19 lead. But Fresno State, which had no timeouts left, drove 49 yards behind quarterback David Carr and got a game-tying 48-yard field goal from Asen Asparuhov to force OT, where Asparuhov won it with a 41-yarder.

NEW MEXICO: Newspaper columnists in Albuquerque are referring to Lobos coach Rocky Long as Rocky Third-and-Long after New Mexico's 49-0 loss to Texas Tech. The shutout by the Red Raiders broke an 111-game scoring streak for the Lobos, who also lost starting QB Casey Kelly for at least four weeks with a broken left forearm.

SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs lead the Mountain West with 111 first downs. They also lead the conference with five losses. First-year head coach Tom Craft has a bye this week to figure a way to pick up his first Division 1-A coaching victory next week when Utah visits Qualcomm Stadium.

UNLV: The Rebels lead the Mountain West with 13 quarterback sacks totalling 104 yards.

UTAH: Nothing quite like young enthusiasm. True freshman quarterback Alex Smith, who is getting a chance to work with Utah's first string offense during this week's bye after the Utes (2-3, 0-1) imploded in the second half of a devastating 30-26 home loss to Air Force, on possibly shedding his redshirt to play this season: "I'm all for it," Smith told the Deseret News. "There's six games left, seven with the bowl, and we're going -- Memphis." Memphis is the site of the Liberty Bowl, which hosts the Mountain West champ. Smith's uncle is Louisville head coach John L. Smith.

WYOMING: It's now or never for the Pokes (0-4), who bring a school-record 12-game losing streak into Saturday afternoon's game against Division I-AA member The Citadel (1-3). The Cowboys even have had an extra week to prepare to snap the nation's second-longest losing streak. Tulsa is No. 1 with 15 straight losses.

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